The circular economy, as a sustainable model is based on waste reduction, reuse and recycling of resources. In the field of tourism, it has great potential to reduce environmental impacts. Integrating the circular economy into tourism can lead to a reduction in carbon emissions and increased resource efficiency.

Conceptual fragmentation and the lack of a unified framework have made it challenging to understand the mechanisms of acceptance of this model. The aim of this research is to produce and explain a conceptual framework for the adoption of the circular economy in tourism businesses.

The present study is a qualitative study that was conducted using a meta-synthesis approach and a systematic review as a data collection tool. Using the PRISMA protocol, 41 relevant articles were selected from 720 articles indexed in WOS and re-analyzed using Brown and Clarke’s content analysis. The results of the study led to the extraction of 19 concepts, 34 key themes and their organization in the form of a multi-level conceptual framework.

The findings show that the framework for adopting a circular economy in tourism is the result of the dynamic interaction of individual/managerial drivers, organizational resources and facilities, institutional pressures, circular organizational culture, stakeholder collaboration, circular innovation and market factors. Barriers in five categories of cultural-behavioral, institutional-legal, infrastructure-resources, market and systemic complexity can weaken this process.

The final output of the study is a multi-level analytical framework that can be the basis for future empirical studies in the field of sustainable tourism.